


The Sky Wasn't Big Enough

by Dresupi



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arranged Marriage, Canon Era, F/M, Ficlet Collection, Minor Oberyn Martell/Alleria Sand, Modern Era, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot Collection, Random & Short, Shorts, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:53:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23737879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dresupi/pseuds/Dresupi
Summary: A collection of Sanberyn short fics I've been prompted. Various ratings and subject matter.The first chapter is the table of contents.I will mark explicit shorts with an *All of these are Modern AU unless otherwise noted
Relationships: Oberyn Martell/Sansa Stark
Comments: 31
Kudos: 108
Collections: Dresupi's Ficlet Collections





	1. Table of Contents

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wheresarizona](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wheresarizona/gifts), [vampireacademy96](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampireacademy96/gifts).



  1. Table of Contents
  2. Huddling for warmth during a blizzard || for wheresarizona
  3. The classic long-distance relationship, surprise you at midnight before the holiday because you thought I wasn't going to be able to make it in time. || for wheresarizona
  4. Aroused by their voice || for wheresarizona
  5. *You can get louder, can't you? || for wheresarizona
  6. Fleur de Lis || for wheresarizona
  7. *Succubus AU || for wheresarizona
  8. *Ginger || for wheresarizona
  9. Someone New || for Anonymous
  10. Rewrite the Stars || for vampireacademy96
  11. Kings & Queens || for vampireacademy96




	2. Huddling for warmth during a blizzard || for wheresarizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter Prompts 2019
> 
> Other tags: Minor Oberyn Martell/Ellaria Sand, Polyamorous Character
> 
> It's Oberyn/Ellaria/Sansa if you squint

Oberyn was shivering by the time he sat down on the couch. 

“Here, take off your coat,” Sansa said, reaching for the clasp even as he shrank away and batted at her hand. 

“Are you insane?” he asked. 

“I am not going to huddle with you if you’re wearing this huge coat covered in melting snow,” she replied, reaching once again for the clasp. This time, he let her. 

He didn’t help her at all, which didn’t escape Sansa’s notice. He somehow managed to turn everything into some kind of sexually nuanced situation, even when he was ‘freezing his balls off’ in the North’s latest blizzard. 

It certainly helped that Sansa found him attractive. 

She was pretty sure he was with someone if the way Alleria had been hanging off his arm at his company’s charity ball two months before proved anything at all. And Sansa liked Alleria Sand, so she had kept her teeny little crush at bay while Oberyn was in Wintertown on business with her father, and therefore with _her,_ for the past week. 

But now his flight home had been canceled until further notice, and her family was at their cabin for the weekend, leaving only Sansa at home when he banged on the door, suitcases in hand and covered with snow. 

“Hotels are booked,” he said, teeth chattering, “Your father said you have some spare rooms?” 

“More than some, no one else is here,” she’d replied, ushering him inside. Sansa could have sworn she saw his eyes light up with the knowledge that they were here alone. But she was probably imagining it. Probably. 

She undid each clasp of his thick winter coat and after she’d undone each of them, Oberyn shrugged the massive garment off his shoulders and Sansa had to laugh at what he was wearing underneath. 

“What?” he asked as she folded his coat over her arm and walked it out to the front room to hang on a hook. “What?” he called after her. 

“Your jumper. Or should I say, jumpers?” 

He glanced down at his chest. “I was going to take some of them off on the plane,” he explained. “It’s below freezing, did you notice?” 

“Barely,” Sansa replied. 

“Right, because you live here all the time, you are acclimated to live in this frozen wasteland,” he scoffed. 

“No, because I live here all the time, I know better than to take my ass out of a heated house in a blizzard.” 

“I was trying to get home. My ass didn’t want to weather the storm in a hotel.” 

“Well, you got your wish. You get to whether it here,” Sansa replied, sinking down on the sofa. 

He reached for the first jumper and peeled it off. He peeled off the second as well, revealing a very fitted thermal henley under both. He draped one arm across the back of the sofa, his fingertips barely brushing against her shoulder. “So, you mentioned huddling? It’s my understanding that we’d have to be closer to huddle.” 

Sansa smirked and caught his gaze. “You’re sitting on the blanket.” 

“Oh, of course. I should have known this was the huddling blanket, my mistake.” 

She spread it over both of them and he pulled it up to his neck. Sansa scooted a tiny bit closer, but apparently not close enough because Oberyn moved until their legs were touching. 

“You call this a huddle, Ice Queen?” he teased. 

“I think you’re confusing a huddle with a cuddle,” she countered. 

He moved into the space right beside her, his arm draping across her back as he whispered. “So let’s cuddle then.” 

Sansa pulled back, her hand coming out to push him away. “Wait…” 

“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, scooting back to his side of the sofa. “I read the signals wrong, this was on me… I apologize… I thought--” 

“I thought _you_ were with someone…” she said slowly. “You and Ellaria were pretty close the last time I saw you…” 

“ _Oh…_ ” he said softly. “I see. You are worried about Ellaria? There is no need. Ellaria is warm in my absence.” 

Warm seemed to have a double meaning here. She was warm in Dorne, and she was warm because she wasn’t alone… 

Sansa bit her bottom lip and jolted when Oberyn reached over to tug it out from between her teeth. “I’ll do that for you if you’d like?” 

Oh, she’d like. She’d very _very_ like… 

“Ellaria wouldn’t mind?” 

“It was her idea that I come alone this time… to attempt to woo you.” 

“Oh…” she mouthed, reaching up to capture his hand. His skin was soft, and his touch was gentle as he pulled her flush against his side, making certain that the blanket was tucked around them. 

“Are you wooed?” he asked, his eyes twinkling as she moved ever closer to him. 

“Maybe you should try a bit harder… we are going to be here for quite some time,” she reminded him, giggling a little when the arm that was wrapped around her shoulders moved down to her waist. 

“I can try harder,” he promised, finally closing the distance between them and igniting the spark. The kiss was everything, and Sansa had to wonder if he was faking his being cold because she felt nothing but heat. 


	3. The classic long-distance relationship, surprise you at midnight before the holiday because you thought I wasn't going to be able to make it in time. || for wheresarizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter Prompts 2019
> 
> Other tags: Established Relationship, New Years' Eve

The knock on his hotel room door startled him because his room service had been delivered, tipped, eaten, and picked up. There shouldn’t be anyone else knocking. 

Oberyn was astonished to see her standing there on the other side of the door, looking very flushed with her overcoat wrapped tightly around her body, and her overnight bag slung over her shoulder. 

“Sansa,” he greeted her, enveloping her in a tight hug when she entered the room. He took her bag, offered to take her coat, but was surprised once again to see her slipping out of his grasp, her hands clutching where her long coat was buttoned. 

“Happy New Year, Oberyn,” she replied, pulling at the buttons and revealing exactly why she’d been clutching it close. 

His mouth went dry at the sight of her, wearing nothing but a pair of silvery grey panties, thigh high stockings, a pair of black heels, and the string of pearls he’d gotten her for a holiday gift. 

Oberyn licked his lips and wasted no time in moving closer as she dropped the coat to the floor. “Happy New Year indeed…” 


	4. Aroused by their voice || for wheresarizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oberyn chuckled into the phone, shaking his head and rolling his eyes in Sansa’s direction. 

She took her bottom lip between her teeth, barely able to contain herself. 

“She is sitting right here, would you like me to put you on speakerphone so you can bring her that bullshit yourself? Because I don’t want to bring that to her.” 

It was a gamble, hiring a Martell to represent her in her lawsuit with the Lannisters, but after approximately four months of constant phone calls and threats and even setting a private detective on her tail, they were ready to settle. Sure she had them over a barrel, but she was sort of enjoying this part. 

Well, she’d sort of enjoyed all of it. Due to her suave, sophisticated, well-read and well-versed lawyer. And his rumbly voice and his smooth-as-butter accent. 

Fuck… his voice did things to her. It was highly inappropriate, the feelings she had for him. 

“That’s more like it. How soon can you get it in writing?” He paused, smirking in her direction as he spoke into the phone once more. “Excellent. We’ll be waiting to sign.” 

“They settled?” Sansa asked. 

“They settled,” Oberyn replied, sliding his phone onto the desk and wiping his hands symbolically. For twenty-percent more than I had estimated. 

“Twe--” Sansa gasped. “Twenty percent?” 

He grinned and Sansa had never wanted to kiss him more. Just run her tongue up the column of his throat and straddle him while he whispered sweet nothings about her. 

“And after you sign…” he trailed off, reaching back to rub his hand over the back of his head. “After you sign, our business relationship is over.” 

Pressing her lips together, she nodded. “Yeah, I know.” 

“And I was wondering if I could take you out. I can pay. I promise I’m good for it.” 

She was so surprised that she stammered. “Well, well…” 

“If you want to, of course, please don’t… fuck, I shouldn’t have…” 

She reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’d _love_ to.” 

“Oh good,” he sighed in relief. 


	5. *You can get louder, can't you? || for wheresarizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five Sentence Fiction
> 
> Other tags: Woman on Top, Smut

“You can get louder, can’t you?”

Sansa pressed her hands against his bare chest and rocked her hips again before resuming the shallow bouncing that made Oberyn’s eyes roll back in his head.

“I can always get louder, sweetling,” he purred, rubbing his thumbs over her hip bones.

She ran her tongue over her lips and dug her nails in before dragging them down his skin. His breath hissed out into the space between them and he took the opportunity to flip her over. Her nails found new purchase on his back, but _Sansa_ was the one getting louder now.


	6. Fleur de Lis || for wheresarizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **_Flower Language Prompts_ **
> 
> Fleur de Lis - A burning, yearning kind of love
> 
> Other tags: Banter, Flirting

“Charmed, I’m sure.”

Her blue eyes flashed mischievously when she held out her hand for him to shake. How Sansa Stark could pretend she’d never met him in her life when she’d been crying out his name not twenty-four hours before was a testament to her oft-bragged-about sneakiness.

Oberyn was a bit of a sneaky bastard himself, though. And he didn’t cut her any slack, giving her the same winning smile he gave every woman when he met them.

She countered by surreptitiously licking her lip and bowing her head.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Sansa. I’ve heard _so much_ about you,” Oberyn said, keeping his voice low so no one else could hear. “Your father speaks about you and your many talents endlessly.”

“Oh I’m quite certain I don’t know to what you’re referring, Mr. Martell. I have no discernable skills that could possibly be interesting to a man like you.”

Her face was so angelic. So innocent. He almost left it at that. Let her win.

Except it’d be more fun not to.

His hand was still clasped around hers, so he tugged it up to his lips, pressing them against her bare knuckles and peering up her arm and into her noticeably darker eyes.

“Oh, I’m certain you have many talents that would interest me, Sansa.”


	7. *Succubus AU || for wheresarizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _****_ ****
> 
> **_Halloween Prompts 2020_ **
> 
> **__**
> 
> Other tags: AU - Succubi & Incubi, Succubi & Incubi, Succubus Sansa Stark

Sansa came into being once again, the familiar pull of her limbs as she stood to her full height in a room she very much remembered. She glanced around, seeking and finding Oberyn who was laying back on a bed under a sheet, panting slightly and looking very much like he _wanted_. 

“Insatiable man,” she teased, slinking closer and taking a seat on the edge of his bed. “This has to be the third time you’ve called for me. Why?”

“You already answered your own question,” he replied, tugging her down on top of him. “I’m insatiable.”

And as she rocked her hips over his, his erection pressing against her core, she felt something ignite deep inside her. Why was she questioning it? This gorgeous man wanted her three times? She didn’t wear him out? He _was_ insatiable. It was almost the perfect scenario.

“You know after the third time, I own you?” she murmured, reaching down under the sheet to wrap her fingers around his cock.

“Every part of me,” he agreed, his eyes closing as she stroked him.

“Every part,” she punctuated, sliding her thumb over the tip. “This part included. You won’t be able to have other lovers save me.”

“I don’t need them if you are always mine,” he whispered. “I belong to you, I have since the first time I saw you. Now take what is yours, Sansa. I give it all to you willingly.”

She inhaled sharply and leaned over to press him back against the bed.

He kicked the sheet down and she moved, slotting his cock inside her so she could press down, taking him all in.

Groaning loudly, Oberyn let his head fall back as she started moving, bouncing in his lap. “You’re mine,” she whispered softly. 

“All yours,” he whimpered. “Gods, Sansa… Take it.”

Her eyes fluttered closed and she squeezed around him, he cried out her name and she rode him hard, nails pressing into his flesh as he exploded inside her.

She licked her lips and rubbed herself against him, not giving him a break as she took what she needed. His pleasure fueled her own and she came apart, her head falling back as she shook and shuddered on top of him.

“Any regrets?” she asked, grinning as she nuzzled his throat.

“Only that I didn’t do this sooner,” he murmured.


	8. *Ginger || for wheresarizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _****_ ****
> 
> **_Winter Prompts 2020_ **
> 
> **__**
> 
> Other tags: Couch Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Hand Jobs

She had her legs draped across his legs. It wouldn’t be too difficult to maneuver herself into his lap. Everyone else had gone to bed and that left the two of them in the living room with the late-night weather playing on the telly.

Sansa pressed her lips together and shifted, Oberyn lifted his arms so she could move. 

His eyes were on the screen until she rose on her knees and slid one across his lap, moving until she was straddling his lap. She pressed down slightly and grinned when his head fell back against the back of the sofa. “Sansa…” he murmured. “We’re in your parents’ living room.”

“So?”

She slid her hand down the front of his pajamas, moving over the semi-hard bulge in his pants.

“They barely like me to begin with… they think I’m too old for you and that I’m going to cause you to derail— gods,” He swore softly, his eyes fluttering closed as she began to stroke him to fully stiff in seconds. “How are you so good at that?”

“I’m very good because you’re a very patient teacher,” she whispered, flicking her thumb over the tip of his cock and feeling the fluid beading there. She smeared it over the head before moving her fist down once more, twisting slightly and making him flail a bit, his hands gripping her hips and bum, fingers digging in hard as she worked him in her hand.

She held him taut and moved forward so she could start rocking against him in his lap, his stiffness rubbing in just the right spot to make her nipples go hard and her breath started to go a bit faster.

His hands were on her thighs, hitching up her nightgown and sliding up and into her knickers from between her thighs, tugging the elastic to the side so he could slide first two and then three fingers inside her.

Her walls clamped down around his fingers as he tucked in his thumb to rub her clit as well.

Her speed faltered and Oberyn grinned as if very very proud of himself. In fact, he managed to reach down and tug her hand away from his cock as he urged her to rock over his hand, she barely noticed because it felt so good. So fucking wonderful.

When she came it was sudden and intense. She swallowed back her moans and instead leaned forward to kiss him. Hard. He ran his teeth over her bottom lip before deepening the kiss.

“Do you want to go to bed?” she whispered.

“Does your bed squeak?” he asked.

“The floor’s warm,” she offered, knowing full-well that her bed was very loud.

He pressed his lips together and nodded. “Yes. Yes. Yes, let’s go to bed.”


	9. Someone New || for Anonymous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _****_ ****
> 
> **_Song Prompts 2020-21_ **
> 
> **__**
> 
> Someone New - Hozier
> 
> Other tags: Second-Chance Romance

He hadn’t seen her. Of that she was certain.

Sansa was in the back of the cafe, and he was ordering in the front. Wearing a long black coat and a burgundy jumper that looked absolutely delectable on him.

She hadn’t seen Oberyn Martell in five years.

But he was never far from her mind. There were times, of course, where she didn’t think of him, but no matter how long those instances lasted, there was always something to remind her. The deep mahogany brown that she’d chosen for her coffee table reminded her of his eyes, but she hadn’t realized that until she’d owned the table for four years, and after that, she couldn’t bear to get rid of it. She supposed it was a choice not to forget him. A foolish choice, but a choice nonetheless.

It wasn’t likely that she’d affected him in the same way. Not when he was who he was, and she was who she was.

At the time, the time in which their paths had crossed, she’d been younger, mid-twenties. And he’d likely just been out for a good time. 

Not to imply that she wasn’t. She’d only just found out about Harry’s many other overlapping paramours and had dumped his ass to the curb. She’d gone out looking for a very specific brand of a good time, and Oberyn had given it to her.

The same way he’d given her four orgasms and a new kink.

The orgasms were mind-blowing. And the kink was for facial hair. She was mad about men with beards now.

She took another sip of her latte and wondered if he’d remember her. If it’d be a good idea to walk up and introduce herself, ask if he recalled the one night they’d spent together five years before.

Gods, it sounded pathetic even in her thoughts, so she knew it wouldn’t be the right choice to make. Not that she had a record of making unfoolish choices when it came to Oberyn Martell, but still.

She’d be better just to note the fondness of the memory and move on with her life. Allow him to move on without having to remember a young woman who seemed to make more out of one night than was necessary.

Sansa tended to get lost in her thoughts. And she had done it again it seemed because someone was talking to her.

Blinking, she looked up into the very handsome face that had been occupying her thoughts. The years had been kind to him. Now that he was closer, she could see the salt and pepper dappling his head and moustache.

He had his hand on the chair across from her. “May I sit?” he asked.

Starstruck, she nodded, and he took a seat, bringing with him that familiar scent of bourbon and musk that had infiltrated only the naughtiest of her dreams. She hadn’t put it together until smelling him again, but he smelled like her naughty dreams.

She licked her lips and smiled. “Hello.”

Oberyn cracked a smile as well. 

Gods, he had a great one. That was a detail that escaped her mind before but came roaring back now. “Sansa… or is it, Ms Stark? Surely not Missus?”

She chuckled and shook her head. “Call me Sansa, Oberyn. And no, there’s no missus.”

He looked relieved, taking a sip of his drink before addressing her once more. “The years seem to have treated you well.” His deep brown eyes were drinking her in, causing her to feel flustered and nervous.

“And you as well,” she said, smiling. “You look… distinguished.”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s just a nice way of saying ‘old’.”

“It’s not,” she countered laughing aloud.

His smile widened into a grin. “I’ve missed that.”

“What?”

“Your laugh.”

Colour rose in her cheeks and she shifted in her seat. “So you remember our… fleeting moment?“ She wasn’t sure what to call it. It hadn’t felt fleeting to her, not the way she kept thinking about it.

“Remember? Sansa…” he sat back. “Sansa, I look back fondly. Not to sound… creepy, but I think on it often… not too often, I’m not… obsessed with you or anything--”

“I do too,” she supplied, putting him out of his clear misery. “I was worried you wouldn’t… I mean with me being so…”

“Hurt?” he filled in for her. She’d been thinking ‘young’. ‘Inexperienced’. Hurt hadn’t even made it onto her radar before now. 

“Was it that obvious?” she asked.

“It’s why I didn’t press things when you wanted to leave. I could tell you were hurting and I’d provided a temporary salve for that hurt. I don’t mind that in the slightest. I just wish we could have continued.”

She swallowed thickly, unsure of what made her say it. It was so unlike her, just sticking her neck out like this. “We could continue now?”

He looked down at his hands. “We could? Even with me being… distinguished now?”

Sansa rolled her eyes and reached for his hand, almost surprised at how willingly he gave it. When he looked into her eyes, it was as if no time had passed, and he was still making her laugh at that bar five years before. Making her laugh when every fibre of her being wanted to sob.

But now, it was different. There weren’t any underlying layers to complicate things. She didn’t feel sad anymore. She didn’t feel angry. She felt… hopeful. 

There was just her. And him. And this tether between them.

“You’re handsome. Same as always,” she said, sliding her hand into his. “And we could. If you wanted.”

“All I’ve wanted for the last five years was to find you,” he said softly. “And now that I have you, I’m not going to give up. So yes. We could.”

“Just pick up where we left off?” she asked, laughing.

“Yes, and I believe I owe you breakfast in bed,” he said, laughing.

“You were going to cook for me?”

“I was. But you were in a hurry to leave and I didn’t want to ruin your plans.”

“I have no plans now.”

“Nothing at all?” he asked, clearly teasing since it was midday in the middle of the week.

“Well, apart from likely eating supper and sleeping. Both of those solitary activities, so I could be persuaded to change them… if you’re able,” she added quickly at the end, not wanting to assume he was just waiting around for her with a clear schedule. “Gods, I never even asked if you had someone…”

“I did agree to start things up with you, Sansa,” he reminded her. “And as luck would have it, you’ve found me between partners at the moment.”

She smiled and he squeezed her hand. It had been five years, but it felt natural, her hand in his.

“And as far as plans, I do have to finish out my workday, but I could meet you for dinner? Around seven?”

Excitement bubbled up in her belly. “Seven it is. Do you have a place in mind?”

“I still live in the same apartment as I did before, would you like me to give you the address?”

She was almost too embarrassed to admit she remembered where he lived. But she did admit it, with a little shrug and a smile.

It made him laugh. In a good-natured sort of way, and he pulled her hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her knuckles before letting her go. “I’ll tell my doorman to expect you.”

She nodded and rose, with Oberyn standing as well. She was unsure of what to do, so she took both his hands and leaned up to kiss his cheek, intending to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. But he turned and caught her lips instead, and she nearly gasped into the embrace. The electricity practically crackled between them.

“On second thought,” he murmured against her lips. “We could go back to my place now, and I promise I’ll make you dinner… eventually.”

She giggled and kissed him again. “What about that work you need to finish up?”

“I should take more time off, I’m a workaholic,” he replied, his eyes crinkling when he smiled, taking hold of one of her hands as she scooped up her coffee from the table and they left together.

She’d seen this coffee shop many times before but was only just today able to patronize it. She had to wonder if she’d have seen him sooner if she’d come here sooner. But then again, she believed things happened when one was ready for them to happen. When the stars aligned, so to speak, so she didn’t spend much time thinking about it. Not now that she was with him. She wasn’t about to start asking questions when things had worked out so perfectly.


	10. Rewrite the Stars || for vampireacademy96

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _****_ ****
> 
> **_Song Prompts 2020-21_ **
> 
> **__**
> 
> Rewrite the Stars - Zac Efron & Zendaya
> 
> Other tags: Canon Era, Not Canon Compliant, Not Even If You Squint 

Oberyn laughed and it tugged at Sansa’s heart.

She did what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t… she turned and caught his eye across the dining hall and she wished she could just hold his gaze for the rest of her life instead of what she knew she had to do.

Duty often got in the way of happiness. The only way to have both was to be happy in one’s duty. Sansa didn’t know if she had it in her.

She inhaled as his dark eyes bore into hers, and she was the first to look away. To excuse herself, nodding to her mother as she turned to leave.

Her betrothed would be here within the hour. She should go prepare herself to meet him.

Tears caught in her throat as she broke into a run the second she’d entered the corridor.

“Sansa!”

He called out her name and she knew she shouldn’t turn, but she didn’t care. She did anyway and waited for him.

Oberyn’s hands encircled her waist and he pulled her into an alcove, his lips on hers in an instant. Hot, wet, and never demanding, kissing Oberyn was heaven itself.

“Run away with me,” he murmured, _pleaded_. “Come with me to Dorne. They won’t find you. They won’t find us…”

“If I do, Stannis could assassinate my brother…”

“That’s your brother’s fault, not yours.”

“My mum would try to marry Arya off.”

“Why does this fall to you, darling?” he asked, kissing her again and making her want to press her skin against his skin. More than it already was. She wanted to strip off his tunic and run her hands over his chest. To find the source of his warmth and curl up there forever. To occupy the same space as he did. 

“Because, I’m the oldest daughter,” she said sadly. “I will marry Stannis and bear his children…”

“No,” Oberyn murmured. “Marry me. Bear _my_ children. We’d have a nice wedding in Dorne. I’d plant a godswood for you.”

“In Dorne?” she asked, smiling.

“I’d do anything to marry you, Sansa Stark.”

She knew he would. His desperation was sincere and matched only by her own. She wanted so badly to go with him, but duty eschewed all other in her life. She was a Stark. And she owed this to her brother. To her family.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “You know why I cannot, don’t you? If it was my choice, I’d be with you in Dorne…”

He looked pained and pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re too good for this world, Sansa.”

She sighed and kissed his lips again, tearing herself from his arms and trying not to cry as she left him there in the corridor on the way to her chambers.

  


  


  


When Stannis arrived, her mother came to fetch her, and Sansa didn’t meet her eye line as she was led into one of the solars. 

“I know you’re upset…” Catelyn began.

“That doesn’t begin to explain my feelings,” Sansa replied coldly. “The only reason I do this is for Robb. I don’t do this for you or your happiness, or your peace of mind. I do this so my brother won’t be in danger. You are keeping me from my happiness.”

“Sansa. Find happiness in your duty, love.”

Her mother sounded as desperate as Oberyn had. In a different way, of course. And Sansa knew from where her desperation stemmed. But she still did not relish her status as a pawn.

“Only if you can truthfully tell me you find happiness in yours,” she replied, looking at her mother for the first time. Her father was dead. Her mother, a grieving widow and a frightened mother forced to trade one child’s happiness for another’s life. If she could find a glimmer of light in this darkness, Sansa would attempt to as well. But when she gazed into her mother’s eyes, she saw nothing but resignation.

And so she resigned herself as well.

“I’m sorry, Sansa… I truly am.”

“I believe you,” she whispered, placing her hand upon the door and pulling it open.

Stannis was standing by a window and he barely seemed to notice when she arrived.

Her handmaid remained as a chaperone, sewing something in the chair in the corner. Catelyn made her introductions and greetings, before leaving them.

Sansa forced herself to stand tall and meet Stannis’s face. It wasn’t such a horrible face. He was actually quite handsome. And Oberyn was quite a bit older than she was, so the age difference wasn’t what bothered her.

It was just…

He wasn’t Oberyn. And looking at him only solidified that fact. 

But he was a good man. She’d be treated well.

It was the best she could hope for in this situation.

She smiled, and Stannis chuckled warmly, shaking his head and turning back to the window. “You really are one of the good ones, aren’t you, Sansa? You’re good at doing what you’re told without a thought for yourself.”

“I…” she trailed off, unsure what he was talking about. “Your Highness, I’m unsure what—“

“I don’t wish to marry you, Sansa Stark. Not for lack of desire or the fact that you’d not make me a proper wife. I whole-heartedly believe you’d be a lovely wife. You’d be a good mother to Shireen. You’d be good to me and any future children we have would be in line for the throne, but…” He shook his head. “I have no wish to marry for political reasons ever again. If I wed again, it would have to be a love match. And we wouldn’t be a love match. How could we be?”

Sansa felt like whatever was restricting her heart had loosened and she could finally breathe. “What do you…”

“You marry your Dornish Prince, my lady,” he said, bowing low. “Make your love match and don’t let your mother use you as a pawn.”

“You know about…”

“Oberyn Martell? The Red Viper? Indeed. My scouts told me to have him killed so he wouldn’t be tempted to kill for stealing his paramour directly from his arms.” He smiled. “Not to worry, I know you’ve not been ruined. I’ll pass along to your mother how beneficial a match between the throne and Dorne would be.”

“She won’t listen,” Sansa said. “She believes you will kill Robb if she doesn’t offer you…”

“Her oldest daughter?” he laughed. “I don’t want the throne. Not after everything that’s happened. It killed my idiot brother. It almost made me do the unthinkable… it’s better that it goes to a Northman. Perhaps your brother has the right head on his shoulders and the constitution for ruling from it.”

“He’s actually going to have it melted down and make his own…” Sansa said softly.

“Good man. That’s a good choice.” Stannis nodded. “Now go. I’ll tell your mother about my plans.”

“Thank you,” she said, bowing so low her knees ached before leaving and bidding her maid leave her side as she ran through the castle to the courtyard where she knew she’d find Oberyn.

It was dark, and he was kneeling in the circle of moonlight that was cast upon the centre of the grounds. And When he looked up to see her standing there, he swore softly, and she ran into his arms. “Stannis told me to marry you,” she said softly, leaning up. “And I don’t wish to wait. We should go now. And be married on the ship back to Dorne.”

“Darling,” he breathed, combing his fingers through her hair as he kissed her soundly. “What about your mother and your brother?”

“Stannis won’t try to take the throne. I’m not beholden to him or anyone… I want you, Oberyn.”

He kissed her again. “I will take you if that’s what you wish. Don’t you want to say goodbye to your family?”

“Robb… yes…” she said, pulling back, but keeping his hand in hers. “Come. Let’s go see him now.”

She needn’t have worried at all. When they arrived in the throne room, Robb seemed to be expecting them. He was smiling when she approached to inform him of her decision.

“I wish I had your propensity for knowing what you want and how to achieve it, Sansa. I see you’ve procured yourself not only a love match but a useful one as well?” he asked, taking one look at Oberyn and seeming to know all already. 

Sansa frowned. Not that her brother wasn’t astute and intelligent, but generally speaking, he wasn’t.

He explained immediately. “Stannis already spoke with me _and Mother_ , and _I,_ for one _,_ couldn’t be happier. You have my blessing. If you wish to marry here, you are of course allowed. I’ll bless your union and give you away if you choose to marry here..”

Sansa breathed easier, releasing Oberyn’s hand to throw her arms around her brother. “Oh, Robb… thank you,” she whispered. He squeezed her tightly before releasing her once more. He extended his hand to Oberyn, who shook it.

“I thank you, Your Majesty, for your blessing.”

“And I thank you, Your Highness. For being someone worthy of my sister’s affections.” He turned back to Sansa. “Now, when would you like the ceremony to occur?” Robb asked.

“As soon as one can be arranged,” Sansa said. “I don’t wish to remain unmarried for longer than I have to…”

Oberyn slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side. He could do so now that they were engaged.

Sansa brushed her fingertips over the back of his hand. It was almost surreal. 

Oberyn would have his fiery princess.

And she’d have her prince.

Sansa’s duty was fulfilled. She was free to see to her happiness. And Oberyn’s.


	11. Kings & Queens || for vampireacademy96

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _****_ ****
> 
> **_Song Prompts 2020-21_ **
> 
> **__**
> 
> Kings & Queens - Ava Max
> 
> Other tags: Modern Royalty, Arranged Marriage

Sansa was over it. She was supposed to be meeting her betrothed tonight, and she already wished she’d found a way to sneak off. There wasn’t a way to do so now, however. She was going to have to meet Oberyn Martell whether she wanted to or not.

Well, of course she _wanted_ to meet him. She’d always sort of wanted to meet him, ever since she was an adolescent and Oberyn Martell was the tabloid-coined “Bad Boy of the Royals”. He’d garnered quite a reputation. Even earned himself a nickname. The Red Viper.

Even though she wasn’t entirely sure what it was for.

She twirled her hair around her finger. That was what made this all the more ridiculous. He was at least fifteen years her senior and never married. Under what sun was this man going to be interested in her?

Besides, having a crush on someone and being nudged into an arranged marriage with them were two entirely different things.

The royal marriage law was antiquated anyway, even if Sansa thought her mother was secretly happy it still existed. Sansa was liable not to get married at all if she wasn’t required to by law, so it was the queen’s only hope at marrying off her oldest daughter. Arya wasn’t looking to get married either, but at least she was so far down the line of succession it didn’t matter.

Robb was the first in line. He’d gotten married _and_ was expecting his first child, so why was she required to do this, anyway? With the way Marg and Robb looked at each other, they’d probably have like a billion kids and Sansa would never have to worry about marrying well to produce an heir.

But Mum was definitely worried about it so here she was, arranging a meeting between Prince Oberyn Martell and her daughter. He was a Prince of Dorne, no less. He’d no sooner be interested in her than she’d be interested in the animals her brother hunted. Not that she was an animal, but it was a metaphor, obviously.

If her mother and father could have scoured the world for someone with less in common than Sansa Stark than a Dornish prince, Sansa wasn’t sure she wanted to meet that person.

As it stood, the prince had travelled from a long way to meet her. And likely wasn’t any more inclined to the match than she was. So they could meet, see there were no sparks, and move on.

It was one night. One dinner.

She could do this.

Inhaling deeply, she rose from her chair in front of her vanity. She’d dressed for dinner, seeing as Mum and Dad had called for a full-service feast just to introduce her to this man. Well, her mother had. Dad had warned that it made them look desperate when they weren’t even announcing an engagement, but Mum had replied, “We _are_ desperate, dear.” And Sansa had rolled her eyes.

She was wearing a gown with silver and grey stitched into a brocade. The brocade pattern featured a pack of direwolves running through the forest. She actually really liked this dress, so she supposed she could look at this as an occasion to wear it. The dress did deserve a banquet in its honour, so it was easier to look at it that way.

Margaery met her at her door so they could enter the dining room together. Robb wasn’t here tonight, he was out on a hunt and likely wouldn’t be back until early morning, so Margaery and Sansa had agreed to walk to dinner together. Even though they wouldn’t be seated together or enter together, seeing as it was a formal banquet.

“That gown,” Margaery said softly, reaching out to brush her fingers over the brocade pattern on the skirt. 

“I know,” Sansa said with a grin.

“I am going to have so many dresses made once I have this child,” Margaery said, laughing as she ran her hand over her swelling abdomen. “So. Oberyn Martell…” Sansa laughed as her sister-in-law switched gears suddenly. “Did you google him at all?”

“I didn’t have to. I already know everything there is to know about him. He’s quite fond of the nightlife, and he’s not entirely difficult to look at.”

She was playing down her early-adolescent crush on the man. That wasn’t knowledge she wanted to get out.

“Not entirely—“ Margaery dropped off at the end. “Sansa. He’s a gorgeous man.”

Sansa rolled her eyes. “Aren’t they all?”

“No, I mean it. You have seen him, right?”

“Yes, I’ve seen him. He’s handsome,” Sansa replied. “I’m just absolutely certain we won’t have anything in common.”

“Oh, and Robb and I do?” her sister-in-law scoffed.

“Well… you two are the exception to the arranged marriage horror,” Sansa replied. “You two clicked immediately and you love each other now.”

“ _Now_ , yes. And let me tell you, the fact that your brother is easy on the eyes helped things sway in his favour considerably.”

Sansa laughed as they reached the hallway outside of the dining room.

Margaery had to enter before her, given that her title was higher than Sansa’s, but Sansa liked that she got some time to collect herself.

“I’m only saying. Give him another look. And another chance,” Marg’s parting wisdom, was as ever, apropos.

Her unspoken, immature crush on the Dornish Prince notwithstanding, it was such a surprise that her mother even considered him as a possible suitor. He seemed the type she’d scorn with a wrinkle of her nose before moving on to more worthy suitors for her oldest daughter. But perhaps Margaery was right. All that was years ago, and he was older. Perhaps he’d matured. 

Sansa was a grown woman now as well. Halfway through her twenties and with six years of university under her belt. She wasn’t a blushing princess any longer.

Well, she was still a princess, but blushing, she was not.

Until she walked into the dining room and laid eyes on him.

Oh, the years had been very kind to Oberyn Martell. Or perhaps, he’d always looked like this and the most she’d ever seen of him was from the Paparazzi photographs that emblazoned the covers of the trashy tabloids she had brought to her each week.

He hadn’t graced the covers recently either.

At any rate, Marg was astute in her statement that he was a gorgeous man.

Gods, he was so gorgeous.

And Sansa could scarcely find her voice when it was finally her turn to meet him. “Your Royal Highness,” she said, with a nod. She didn’t have to curtsey to him, their titles were technically the same.

He smirked and mirrored her. “ _Your_ Royal Highness.”

They were seated together, of course. But they were also seated near her mother and father, and the former monopolized the conversation to try and push them into some sort of repartee, and the whole thing fell flat.

Sansa, annoyed with her mother’s constant machinations, rose to take a stroll on the balcony between the dinner dishes being cleared and dessert being served. Oberyn stood as well, and while she assumed it to be merely decorum, he asked permission to join her on her walk.

Catelyn nearly fell out of her chair with the force of her self-induced launch towards the pair to follow them onto the balcony, and subsequent return at the behest of Ned. “Do stay and speak with me, darling. I need your guidance on a matter of utmost importance.”

He winked discreetly at Sansa, who turned back to Oberyn to accept his invitation for company.

As they walked along the stone balcony, the light from the adjacent rooms flooded the stone in arches when they passed the windows.

“So, you said before that you finished your degree?” Oberyn asked, in relation to the last thing they’d attempted to discuss in the dining room, only to be interrupted by Cat, who wanted to divert attention away from Sansa’s degrees as much as possible.

“I did,” Sansa replied. “I’ve a master’s now in Art History.”

“Truly?” Oberyn mused. “Never had the patience for university myself. That’s quite an achievement.”

Sansa smiled. “At first glance. You still haven’t asked what my emphasis was in.”

“Art?” he guessed, laughing.

She laughed too. 

“Or history?” he ventured again, clearly joking and giving her the opening to supply the correct answer.

“Textiles,” she replied with a laugh. “I study old cloth. And notably, fashion from hundreds of years ago.”

“Now, why wouldn’t you lead with that? It’s much more interesting than merely holding a degree in Art History.”

“My mother was solidly against my choice of emphasis. She wanted me to become more well-rounded by university, not sharpened to a point. Not ‘obsessed’ with old dresses, as she so eloquently phrases it. What about you? I know you said you didn’t go to university, but you must have done something these past few years.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked. “Because I wasn’t in the papers so much?” His voice belied his curiosity.

“I never said that,” Sansa replied.

“Didn’t have to…” he stopped walking and her heart sank.

She’d offended him. She had to fix it.

“I don’t judge you for anything you did or didn’t do,” she said quickly. “If I’d been half as bold, I’d have done the same.”

“I never implied that I thought you were passing judgement, but that is indeed good to know,” he mused, walking once more.

She fell into step beside him. “Your Highness, I simply wished to—“

“I like you. A lot. Despite how my brother talked you up and forced me to come on this trip… As much as I don’t want to bend to his wishes, I like you, Sansa.”

“I like you as well.”

“Good. Because I have a proposition for you.”

“You do?”

“Indeed. I think it would be mutually beneficial for both of us.”

“What is that?”

“We bend to their wishes. And then, to each other.”

“What, I…”

“Have you taken lovers before?” he asked, his eyes fiery and dark.

“Yes,” she replied. “As have you.”

He smiled. “As have I. I propose… we should get married. Keep the lot of them off our backs, and you will be able to continue sharpening your points, so long as you don’t object to sharpening them while travelling with me.” 

“I…”

She liked the idea. If anyone had asked her before now, honestly, she wouldn’t have. But the thought of travelling the world with Oberyn Martell was one she’d like to explore. She had but one reservation.

“You’re suggesting a loveless marriage?”

“I’m suggesting a loveless wedding,” he countered. “Love doesn’t come until the fires of passion have smouldered. And considering we have yet to even light a match, how could we possibly marry for love?”

“It’s awfully pragmatic of you. What if we never fall in love?”

“Then, we separate. Go our own way, take our own lovers, but under the umbrella of safety that a royal marriage provides. We’ll never be bothered again by our families.”

“I think you underestimate the meddling powers of my mother.”

“Oh, I’ll be whisking my bride away to Dorne immediately following our ridiculously long honeymoon.”

Sansa had to admit, she liked the sound of that. Dorne was warm and sunny where the North was cold and dark. She’d be able to sunbathe. To watch her children grow and play in the sunlight.

“Children?” she asked.

“As many as you want.”

“If I didn’t want any?”

“Then none.”

“If I wanted eighteen?”

“Then we’d better get started.” He smiled, reaching for her hand, but stopping shy of touching it.

She closed the distance and laced their fingers. As they began to walk once more, she asked. “When should we tell them?”

“Why not tonight?”

She laughed. “We can’t tonight.”

“We can’t?”

“We don’t know enough about each other. Why, we’ve never even kissed.”

She wasn’t asking to be kissed, but she wouldn’t complain at all that she subsequently _was_ kissed.

Oberyn tugged her close with the hand that was clasped in his, tucking his other hand around her lower back and lowering his lips to hers. It was sudden and slow at the same time.

She brought her hand to his jaw, cupping it and rubbing her thumb over his facial hair.

When he ended the kiss, she staggered slightly, but he just tightened his hold on her and grinned. “How’s that?”

“Right, let’s go tell them now,” she said, turning and tugging him along with her.

He laughed and pulled her back once more. “In a minute…”

She smiled and wrapped both arms around his neck. “I suppose we can wait for a minute…”

“Or five…”

“Or twenty,” she breathed.

“Kiss me,” he murmured.

It was actually more like thirty-five, and they almost missed dessert. 

She was so glad she hadn’t found a reason to sneak off.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts are open, prompt me [here.](https://forms.gle/ejZPceyAAj29SWtK8)


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